Fewer Virginia schools met federal academic standards last school year despite more students passing state reading and math tests and a shrinking achievement gap between white and minority pupils, state education officials said Thursday.

Of the commonwealth’s 1,855 public schools, 1,321 — or 71 percent — made “adequate yearly progress,” a set of progressively tougher achievement benchmarks established under the No Child Left Behind Act. In the prior school year, 74 percent of Virginia schools met the standard.

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